Castles and Historic Sites in Co. Galway
8 places
1.Glengowla Mines
Descend into Connemara's only show mine
Connemara's only show mine, where you descend into silver and lead workings abandoned in 1865, then surface to sheepdog and turf-cutting demonstrations on a working family farm.
- Highlights
- Guided underground mine tour with hard hat
- Gold panning - keep the gems you find
- Sheepdog herding demonstration on a working farm
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
2.Dún Aonghasa
a 3,000-year-old fort on an 87m cliff edge
Perched on a sheer cliff above the Atlantic, Dún Aonghasa is a 3,000-year-old drystone fort and the largest of the Aran Islands' prehistoric strongholds.
- Highlights
- One of Europe's finest prehistoric stone forts, on a 300ft cliff
- Three massive drystone walls plus a chevaux-de-frise of upright stones
- 87-metre sea drop with no fence or barrier at the edge
3.Plassey Shipwreck
1960 shipwreck rusting on the Atlantic shore
The rust-orange hulk of a 1960 cargo ship, thrown ashore by Atlantic storms on Inis Oírr's rocky eastern tip and now famous as the wreck in Father Ted's opening credits.
- Highlights
- Father Ted opening-credits wreck
- Cargo ship stranded in March 1960
- Views to the Cliffs of Moher
4.Portumna Castle & Gardens
Jacobean castle with a 17th-century walled garden
Built in 1618 by the fourth Earl of Clanricarde, Portumna Castle was gutted by fire in 1826 and survives as a roofless Jacobean shell, ringed by formal gardens and a walled kitchen garden above Lough Derg.
- Highlights
- Unique transitional Irish architecture of the early 1600s
- Ground-floor exhibition on the de Burgo family
- Walled 17th-century kitchen garden with a maze
5.Aughnanure Castle
Connemara's best-preserved 15th-century tower house
Connemara's best-preserved late-medieval tower house, perched on a rocky outcrop over the Drimneen River near the western shore of Lough Corrib. Built in the late 1400s, it was the stronghold of the O'Flaherty lords of Iarchonnacht for over two centuries.
- Highlights
- Late 15th-century O'Flaherty tower house on the Drimneen River
- Riverside walk to the gatehouse
- Four floors with murderhole, secret chamber and gallery
6.Menlo Castle
ivy-clad 16th-century ruin on the River Corrib
The ivy-covered ruin of a 16th-century castle on the banks of the River Corrib, home to the Blake family for 300 years until a fatal fire in 1910. It is a striking, free landmark, but access to the ruins has long been restricted for conservation work.
- Highlights
- 16th-century ivy-covered castle ruin
- Home of the Blake family, 1600-1910
- 1910 fire that killed three people
7.Clifden Castle
a roofless Gothic castle on the Sky Road
A roofless Gothic Revival manor built in 1818, Clifden Castle stands ivy-clad among grazing fields at the start of the Sky Road, reached by a 1km walk from its stone gateway.
- Highlights
- Free, open-access ruin
- 1km walk from the gate through pastures
- Five mock standing stones along the path
8.Dunguaire Castle
the castle Yeats and Shaw made their meeting place
A 16th-century tower house on the shores of Galway Bay, Dunguaire was the literary meeting place of Yeats, Shaw and Lady Gregory — and one of the most photographed castles in the country. It is currently closed to visitors during a change of ownership.
- Highlights
- 16th-century tower house built c.1520 on Galway Bay
- Meeting place of Yeats, Shaw, Lady Gregory and Synge
- Traditionally hosts a four-course medieval banquet